by Mike ‘Mish’ Shedlock
Mish Talk
San Francisco Fed president John Williams has been yapping about the need for interest rate hikes, 4% inflation targets, and Fed-set GDP growth targets.
Williams is bullish on jobs. He also says the US economy is at “full strength” but inflation needs to be higher now so we can cut rates later.
His speech to the Hayek Group in Reno Nevada was called Whither Inflation Targeting? Here are some excerpts:
Good evening; it’s a pleasure to be here to discuss the economy and monetary policy with the Hayek Group. I’ll start with a quick overview of the U.S. economic outlook and what it means for monetary policy. Spoiler alert: The punch line is that the economy has climbed back to full strength, and it therefore makes sense to move monetary policy gradually back to normal. That brings me to the second topic of my talk: What is “normal” monetary policy?